Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Lowered to $34.00 at Piper Sandler

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its target price dropped by analysts at Piper Sandler from $35.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price points to a potential upside of 41.23% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.31.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR opened at $24.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 2.14. Murphy Oil has a 12-month low of $22.90 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.97.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,529 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.